Fix repair explorer.exe without updating Windows?
Fix repair explorer.exe without updating Windows?
Recently, power cuts and shutdowns have affected File Explorer on my workstation. It freezes when I turn off the monitor and fails to start properly. I don’t want to reinstall Windows since I already have many installed programs, which would take a long time. If explorer.exe is the issue, here’s a possible solution: I could boot from an HP Z Turbo Drive, remove the NVMe card, transfer it to another system with a spare slot, delete explorer.exe from C:\Windows, and then reinsert the files from the working computer’s Windows installation. Or maybe that’s not the best approach... I’ve already tried using DISM and sfc commands without success. My machine is an HP Z840 workstation with an x86 Z Turbo Drive, 256GB Samsung SSD, plus several other drives and a RTX A4500 graphics card.
Consider trying the suggested steps first. You may open CMD with admin privileges from Task Manager if needed. If you're unsure about disk issues, proceed with that before moving on. After the scan, run SFC and DISM commands to repair the system. Once the reboot completes, check the results and see if improvements appear.
I understand, but if you didn’t try the checkdisk first, you might want to give it a go before proceeding... You can perform a basic scan with checkdisk to determine if it can resolve any problems. If it doesn’t, reinstalling seems necessary, sorry for that. If the PC was shut down improperly, checkdisk may be able to fix some issues. You could attempt it after backing up data, though results are uncertain. I recall Windows install media repair mainly fixes boot-related issues, but I might be mistaken about its scope. It hasn’t been used in about 5 to 10 years.
I share the others' thoughts—fixing Windows seems like your top choice, but if it fails, consider that you might be more damaged than you think. A reinstall could be the final option. I remember on my gaming PC, setting everything up again would take at least a week, which is why I keep multiple full backups. They let me revert anytime, and they’re all Windows 10 1809 (some might be 1803). It sounds like you haven’t backed up yet. This is something to consider when resolving the current problem. Wishing you luck with your fix, and sorry if I didn’t help much—just trying to explore your options.